Police seize hundreds of pot plants in Berrien County

More than 500 marijuana plants growing across Berrien County were seized during a period of six days in July and again in September through Operation HEMP, police said.

Warrants are being requested charging a Coloma Township resident and a Hagar Township resident with manufacturing marijuana, investigators said.

The two residents have been identified in two separate cases, with police continuing an investigation into a third suspect.

The Berrien County SheriffÂ?s Department Narcotics Unit, Berrien County SheriffÂ?s Road Patrol and the Michigan State Police Aviation Unit conducted Operation HEMP on July 24-27 and again on Sept. 19 and 20.

The operation is a Drug Enforcement Administration-funded effort to locate and eradicate marijuana-growing operations by coordinating aerial surveillance with ground search teams, according to a news release.

This yearÂ?s early season and late-season searches resulted in the seizure of 533 marijuana plants from about two dozen separate growing plots across the county.

The DEA estimates the street value of a mature marijuana plant at $1,000, the news release said.

Several of the plots were located with information provided by citizen tips on suspicious activity observed near fields or undeveloped areas, officials said.